The Woodbender: War and Peace
by HiddenTruth101
Summary: Here comes Naruto Uzumaki with his nine-tailed kitsune friend, Kuruma, on his journey in the Republic City to build a new life. His experiences and his ultimate secret as a wood bender brings him as a member and friend to Avatar Korra. With the war between the Equalists and the benders, Naruto's in a life time adventure for sure. Adopted from Captain Ash
1. Chapter 1: Hello Republic City

**Author's Notice****: This was adopted from Captain Ash's fanfic, "The Woodbender". I asked for permission and received a notice it was alright to rewrite the story. There might be a few similar quotes and phrases used by Captain Ash, but C.A said it was okay for me to use them. So please, no flames or complaints about this issue.**

**In addition, my original story "The Soul's Capability" might be on a permanent hiatus due to an immense writer's block. I apologize for those who followed that story. But, I will try and figure out the second chapter for it. **

**Finally, it's been a long time since I watched the first season of The Legend of Korra. If there are any misconceptions or mistakes, please feel free to write in your reviews. Since I addressed all of the issues at hand, I hope that you'll have a nice time reading, "The Woodbender: War and Peace". **

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

_"Do you actually think you'll be the best bender out there, dobe?" A haughty smirk made across the pale face of his best friend, dark obsidian eyes twinkling with laughter. "You do realize there's also the Avatar?"_

_Grumbling, he shuffled his feet around the sand, and raised his head to glare at the boy next to him. His hands dug into the worn pockets of his pants and he slowly walked to the shore. "The Avatar hasn't been seen after Avatar Aang died in his sleep. And besides, it's not like the next one has wood-bending-"_

_"That's because they never received the chance to study the deeper aspects of their elements. You know, with the 'saving the world from absolute evil' thing going on in their lives?"_

_He stopped midway to glare at his friend once more before reaching the edge of the ocean, where he reached out one hand, raised it up high, and grasped it into a tight fist. As if he defied the laws of gravity, a clear stream of water rose up from the surface, smoothly moved a few feet away from him, and curled into a small sphere. Then, he waved his fingers in an intricate pattern, letting the ball of water swirl around in different directions; the water became hotter with the forceful movement and rapid increase of speed._

_He looked at the ball in wonder, despite the fact that he has done this for so many years. "Yeah, but that doesn't stop me from being the best of the best Sasuke. I'm going to be the Hokage of Konoha, believe it."_

_Bringing his fist back and immediately swinging it forward, the heated water ball moved at high speeds that Naruto knew Sasuke couldn't see. But, what they noticed was how sudden a wooden branch appeared to collide with the ball, making a small explosion of water and steam. He knew that Sasuke glanced at his other hand, which was raised higher, and made him look he was defending himself like a shield._

_"Heh, good luck dobe."_

_"Thanks, teme."_

* * *

"Hey kid, wake up. We're here at the Republic." The grouchy voice startled Naruto from his sleep, making him fall from his seat, and dropping Kuruma to the floor in the process. The nine tailed kitsune gave a disgruntled growl and glowered at his master with ruby iris eyes, who only responded with a sheepish smile. The fox trotted away with its head up high, leaving the blond sixteen year old to face with the sailor in front of him.

"Sorry about him; Kuruma's usually more happy than that." He rubbed the back of his head, tilting it back to see the worn smile of the sailor and his scarred face. Both gave a little laugh as Naruto stood up from his fall and stared at the breathless scenery.

It was a beautiful day in his opinion, with the clear blue skies, and the glittering sunlight reflecting on the glass buildings of the Republic City. Some of the other sailors were tying the ropes to the piers, while the captain surveyed the rest of the passengers. Everyone looked cheerful for the glorious weather and Naruto was glad that his adventure could begin with a positive step.

He turned around and bowed to the man with a thankful smile. "Thanks for the trip, old man. But, do you know where I could get some grub?"

The sailor received a tick on his face as he only pointed a finger to the center of the city. "Kid, just get off the ship already. Tell your pet that it doesn't need to steal the captain's hat again."

"Heh," Naruto responded and grabbed the blue backpack, brought it around his shoulder, and ran off the stairway. He waved a good-bye; his orange jacket flapping from the gentle breeze and his jade necklace swinging side to side. Black sandals tapped on each step of the stairway; a timbre voice humming to a seemingly random tune. Finally, he reached to the end of the stairway and to the side of the ship, where he could see Kuruma waiting at the edge.

"Hello Republic City!" Naruto raised his arms to a V-shape, screaming his greeting to the vast city. People started to whisper about the strange boy and Naruto nervously chuckled at the sudden attention. He heard a husky snicker and looked down to see his friend grinning with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Very funny," Naruto grumbled and started walking on a busy pathway to the center of the city. Merchants passed by the two foreigners, many bustling with immense energy to scream out their deals, and others using their charm to gather customers. Most of them were selling exotic merchandise, similar to rare jewels and fur pelts. It was an immense city with modern technology that Naruto couldn't handle with his childhood spent with trees that towered over buildings. However, Naruto didn't care about any of those as of right now with his stomach growling in hunger. As he continued to go down the wide streets for a few minutes, he could smell a distinct scent of noodles waver  
in the air.

It was a wonderful aroma that got his stomach roar louder than before; he clutched his midsection with an arm, giving a loud 'shush' in fear of someone laughing at him. Yet, he heard the same husky snickers from Kuruma, except it was more pronounced and clearer. He glared at the kitsune once more, "Shut up Kuruma. I know you're hungry too."

The fox only smirked and trotted after the wonderful scent, leaving his master in the dust. Immediately, Naruto followed the animal, excused himself from different people of all ages as he accidentally bumped into them. Some acknowledged his apologies, while others ignored the hungry teenager. Yet, there was one middle-aged man who stopped Naruto at the middle of the roadway. His furrowed eyebrows and glare startled the blond teen, but didn't intimidate him at all. Instead, Naruto offered a cheery smile to the angry man, and asked, "Is there a problem?"

The man looked as if he became angrier with a crinkled rolled up poster in his hand. "Yeah, what's your problem kid? Some people are trying to get pass their lives with no problems. Why are you making this hard for us, huh?"

Naruto began to look confused, as did the rest of the crowd around them, and did exactly what he did to the rest of the other occurrences. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. If you want, I can treat you to some food."

With another cheerful smile, he lent a hand to the angered man, with hopes of cooling down the man. However, the man continued to become more furious by the second, and unleashed it by burning the poster in his hand. A fiery red glow from his hand traveled up to the rest of his arm, black ashes floating to the ground.

"Don't mess with me, you punk!"

With a punch empowered by fire, the man ran forward, aimed it towards Naruto's chest. However, he quickly shifted to the right of the man, dodging the fire fist in time. The man abruptly stopped midway, realizing the miss, and gave a round house kick. Naruto jumped over, landed gently on his toes, and gave a frown to the quick-tempered male.

"Hey man, chill for a second there; don't take it out your anger on me. I apologized to you, remember?"

Continuing on without trying to listen to the boy, the fire bender sprinted with lighted fists. Flashes of the red fire lingered off in the air and dropped to the ground. Throwing punches and letting burst of flames fly to Naruto where he dodged every one of them, the man jumped to the air, mere seconds after his attack. He flipped and gave out his right leg; his foot pinpointed at where Naruto's head was.

From a distance, Naruto could see the tiniest of smirks on the guy's face, and gave a muttered growl. He knew he didn't have the time for a fight with his stomach pleading for food and the people around them were fleeing. While he was dodging the barrage of flame attacks, he heard someone yelling for the police force.

'This has got to stop,' Naruto thought to himself and grabbed the man's foot with a vice grip. He threw the man overhead and made sure the fire bender lied on his stomach with his remaining hand on the nape of his neck. He watched as the man continued to struggle, with streams of fire whip-lashing around his area. For a few more seconds, Naruto grappled the man to submission, while keeping himself safe from the fire with microscopic droplets of water he created from the air.

The people, who remained rooted in their spots, were amazed by the scene in front of them. Some of them couldn't believe that a non-bender in their eyes defeated someone who could bend one of the most dangerous elements. With the fight finished, they all ran off into different directions; they all seem eager to tell what they saw.

"Ugh, you got to be kidding me here." Naruto firmly pressed the spot behind the man's ear canal for a few seconds, before striking it with his forearm. He saw the man's eyes rolled up and head promptly dropped to the floor. He waited for a few seconds until the man's breathing could be heard. Then, he got up and ran off to the same direction Kuruma went to. He could hear the sounds of the police force and a stern female voice barking out orders to stay calm. A sweat drop trailed down his neck from his chin as he pumped his legs to move faster. He passed by other stores and people; his mind focused on the aroma of noodles which still remained in the air.

Eventually, after he got lost in front of a dead end, he asked for directions, and stopped in front of a restaurant called "Narook's Seaweed Noodles." It had a nice exterior design with the roof painted a calm blue shade and had flaps attached to the ceiling. It was similar to the Ichiraku ramen place he would go to as a kid. There were tables with chairs and small stools that were aligned underneath a bar; Naruto could see his kitsune napping underneath the first seat. With a tired sigh, he sat down on the first stool ungracefully and unconsciously slid his bag underneath him, face-palming his forehead on the cool tabletop. Kuruma woke up from the sudden movement and stretched out his legs. He jumped the next seat and looked over his friend. With unkempt hair and wrinkled clothes, the fox snorted at the overall appearance of his friend. He nimbly dodged the lazy attempt of a swipe from Naruto and turned to the chef, who was watching with an amused look on his face.

The chef asked with a smile, "And what would you like, son?"

Naruto looked up and smiled with a tired expression. He looked to the side of the restaurant, where there was a large menu taped to the wall. He looked all the way down, not knowing how each bowl would taste like. With a limited budget and no ideas on how the noodles tasted like, Naruto ordered a simple bowl of seaweed noodles.

The chef nodded in reply and left Naruto to his own thoughts. A few minutes passed as the blond boy could smell the beautiful smell of the seaweed broth boiling in the pot. He watched as the chef skillfully chopped the vegetables with a sharpened knife and grilled the meat with seasonings. Putting it altogether, the chef completed the dish, and gave it to him with a side of soy sauce and fresh crab. Giving his thanks, Naruto rubbed his hands together, and dug right into the noodles. It wasn't as delicious as the homemade noodles back at home, but Naruto brought a thumbs up to the chef.

Kuruma watched with a bored stare that made Naruto stopped midway with noodles still in his mouth. Swallowing the rest, Naruto offered some from the bowl to the kitsune. "Do you want some of these? It's really good."

The fox growled and turned its head to the side as if he was refusing the offer. In return, Naruto shrugged his shoulders, and continued to finished his meal. It was a peaceful moment for both him and Kuruma as they took their time to rest. The chef gave some meat to the fox and the animal gladly accepted the offering with a swipe of his teeth. People passed by the restaurant, while others came in and ordered different bowls, which got Naruto interested in trying all of them. By the time he was full and his stomach felt bloated, it was almost evening with the sun gradually setting down the horizon.

"Thanks old man, everything was delicious." Naruto grinned with one of his hands holding the exact amount of money he owed. He set it on the counter and signaled Kuruma to go outside. The fox huffed at the order, but jumped to the ground. He walked across the exit and waited for his master to get everything in order. Naruto acknowledged the chef's greetings with one of his own and tried to look around for his bag. It was nowhere to be found as he checked the seats around him and to the opposite direction of the restaurant. He asked the chef if he seen his bag and dropped his shoulders in sadness once the chef shook his head.

He went outside of the restaurant, moving the flaps out of the way. He stared at Kuruma, who had a prankster-like gleam in his eyes. Immediately, Naruto crouched in front of the animal, and asked, "Where is the bag?"

Kuruma didn't say anything and moved on with high pitched snickers that annoyed the hell out of the blond bender. He made a grab for the fox's tail and lifted him up to his own eye level. The fox continued to laugh in his own way and stopped once he was shaken slightly by his human. Kuruma curled up to bite his friend's hand and was dropped to the ground when Naruto yelped in pain. He landed gracefully like a cat and left the vicinity before he could be captured again.

Naruto cursed at the fox's sneakiness and began to run towards the same direction, but collided with another person. He fell to the floor on his butt and clasped a hand to his forehead, which got injured in the process of bumping into the random stranger.

"Ouch, watch where you're going!" Naruto heard the stranger's voice and realized it was a girl. He glanced at the now-categorized girl and saw it was a Water-tribe girl, with the semi-bulky clothes and furry boots. She looked around his age and had clear aquamarine eyes that made Naruto blush a bit at the beautiful shade. However, he knew he needed to find his bag that had all of his essential items.

He stood up quickly and gave an apologetic smile that seem to made the girl stop herself from yelling any further. He ran off to the streets with his hand still on his forehead and left the girl standing in her spot. While he was almost around the corner, he heard a loud shout of "Wait, come back here!"

Naruto didn't look back and turned the corner with a smile on his face. "Sorry about that!"

* * *

**LATER THAT DAY**

"Where the fuck can a stupid bag go?" Naruto collapsed on the sidewalk and leaned against a building. He couldn't find Kuruma either even though he spent a good two hours scourging through the streets of the city and asked almost all the occupants at a nearby distance from the restaurant. All of them shook their heads and made Naruto apologize for interrupting their time repeatedly. Then, he almost got into more trouble as he met with some of the gangs that lived around this side of the district. Apparently, some of them were furious of losing to a girl who could water bend pretty well. They needed to lose some of their stress and Naruto was their target. Fortunately, he was able to escape all the men with a quick climb up the apartment buildings, and outran all of them in a matter of an hour.

"Great, this is perfect. I can't believe I got robbed on the first day here." Naruto grumbled at his loss and focused on the problem of finding Kuruma within this large metropolis.

"Hey you," he perked up at the loud shout and stared at the direction of which it came from. He saw it was the Water tribe girl from earlier and was running to him. He noticed that she was holding a large object with a little shadow behind her as well. Naruto waited for a few seconds and concentrated harder on the object in her hand; it was his backpack. The boy broke out to a large grin and got up from his position next to the wall. The girl stood a few feet away from him with her arm stretched to his chest. He took his bag and gave his gratitude with words of thanks.

Then, he also noticed a small animal near his feet, and he looked down to see it was Kuruma. He appeared bewildered with his fur spiked out and his ears pointed upwards. Naruto gave a small laugh at his friend's looks and turned to face the girl, who was chuckling at the situation as well.

He stuck out a hand and the girl returned the gesture by shaking his hand. He asked with a curious tone in his voice, "How did you find the bag? I've been looking for it everywhere."

The tanned girl brought back her hand to cover a loud laugh. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes twinkled with happiness. "Narook said he found it underneath your seat."

Naruto felt like an idiot right there and then as he slapped his face with his entire hand. He couldn't believe that he didn't checked his OWN seat before leaving the restaurant. "Ugh, thanks a lot for finding my bag. You wouldn't believe the day I was having."

"It's no problem, helping people is what the Avatar has to do." The girl responded with a clear smile, causing Naruto to look at her surprised and wide-eyed.

"You're the AVATAR?"

"Yep, Avatar Korra at your service." Korra replied and saluted the blond boy with her eyes closed.

Naruto nodded his head.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he dropped the bag to his side and opened it. He scourged his bag and took out a camera, while Kuruma ran up his sleeves to rest on his neck. His nine tails brushed against his birthmark scars and made Naruto to sneeze. Korra giggled at the cute image and took the electronic device from his hands.

"Do you want to take a picture with me? My grandma would be happy that I have proof I met the Avatar." Naruto asked after he finished wiping his nose and smiled when Korra nodded. He gave a nudged to Korra's hands, who lifted the camera at an angle. The lighting conditions were perfect and Naruto stood next to Korra, while putting his arm around her shoulders. She looked shocked at the close contact, but ignored it as she smiled at the lens.

Naruto counted down, "Three... Two... One!"

CLICK

Korra gave the camera back to her new friend and asked, "So, what're you doing in the Republic?"

Naruto put away the device and responded, "Well, I'm just here to try out a new life here. If it works out, then I might as well stay here permanently."

"Oh really, I hope you'll do well in finding something that you want to do. If you want to hang around, then send me a letter." Korra gave her address to the boy, who in return memorized it quickly.

"HEY KORRA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Both Korra and Naruto jumped at the sudden noise, turning around to the opposite side of the street. Korra seemed to recognize the voice as she faced towards him. "Hey Naruto, that was my friend, Bolin. I have to go now; but see you later?"

He gave a nod as he waved her away. "Yeah sure, go find your friend."

Korra then ran off, screaming that she heard the Bolin guy and to stop shouting. Naruto smiled at the disappearing figure and picked up his bag. He made eye contact with Kuruma, who stared back disinterested. "Alright Kuruma, let's go find our new home!"

He ran to the other side of the street, never noticing the three angered stares that kept burning holes at the back of his sweater.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting People

**Author's ****Notice****: It's been over a week and my friends have finished their peer editing. I still think there are mistakes in this chapter, but I wanted to quickly publish it.**

**In addition to that, I'm overwhelmed with the amount of responses you guys have sent. With more than forty followers and favorites, seven reviews, and two communities that chose this fanfic, it just made my week.**

**Okay with no further news, have an enjoyable time reading the second chapter of "The Woodbender: War and Peace".**

**Disclaimer****: I do not have ownership of ****Naruto**** or ****Avatar: Legend of Korra****.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"I'm sorry Naruto, you're not allowed to work here anymore." Amber eyes matched stares with his cerulean ones, focused with the intent on kicking him out of her shop instead of trying to console the boy with the bad news.

The owner felt bad for having to do this, but it can't be helped when some of her most valuable customers started to complain about the animal, saying how they were allergic to its beautiful scarlet fur. Others began to insult her employee, the adorable country kid, on how he was using his bending skills for his own selfish purposes, which she secretly knew was a lie.

Up until now, she hasn't seen the boy use any type of the four elements; she should know if he did since he was monitored by the rest of the staff members for the entire period he worked in her restaurant. All of them concluded that Naruto Uzumaki is one of the kindest, funniest, and humble people they've ever met in their entire lives. But now, it's too late for anyone to say something.

"Aunt Hikari," she heard the blond teenager whisper and she turned her head away, ashamed of herself. She could hear the inside of her heart started to wither away once Naruto called her 'aunt'.

It's been a long time since any of her family members came by to relax and have a cup of jasmine tea with her, especially her grandchildren. They were all too busy committing their lives with one another and their friends; they thought it was too embarrassing to spend the weekend with their maternal grandmother when there was the better option of driving those blasted vehicles with school mates.

She became a bitter woman, only living for the sake of her restaurant and the people who worked along with her. Yet, when Naruto came into the picture; her heart and mind somehow reunited together and made her feel happy.

He was a glorious ball of sunshine, a new breath of air that brought her back to life. He made her feel as if she was significant in his life and not because she was his employer, but because she was a precious person to him.

He became friendly with the rest of the employees and her, cleaned the restaurant and performed other minor duties that nobody else did, and excelled at customer service. His pet fox, Kuruma, was an adorable sight with his orange eyes and nine soft tails.

What made Naruto burrow deep into her heart was his ability to tell stories that could make her feel as if she was involved in the adventure as well. His words spoken by a timber voice, his hand movements that enrapture anyone's attention, and his facial expression that could tell anything, it was always an amazing sight to see. Children would flock to his side and adults would sit at the edge of their seats, hiding their excited faces behind a parental façade.

"I'm really sorry Naruto. There's nothing I can do except try to make the customer as happy as they can be." She solemnly said with her head still turned away from him, tears finally rolling down her cheeks.

It's been two weeks since she hired Naruto Uzumaki for his service at her restaurant, but to her: it felt as he if was with her and the rest of the group for a decade or more. His presence was addicting to almost everyone that came to the shop. More people wanted to be by his side, to either talk freely or stay quiet; Naruto didn't care.

She walked away from the scene, too aware of the sounds of her feet tapping somewhat silently on the wooden floor. Her hands were on her face, covering the tears that couldn't stop falling; her mouth closed to a grim line, but was twitching as if something wanted to be let out.

Some of her employees tried to comfort her; she could feel Solo's hand gently rubbing her back and Hansl's arm around her shoulder. Both were guiding her to the back of the restaurant, where nobody can see the tears freely coming down. While she could imagine and feel how both of her employees' faces contorted into confused frowns, she knew that she would be the only one to understand about why some people would want him to be fired.

It wasn't because of his pet that would often stay out of the vicinity and nor was his age. The reason was how well Naruto stole her and everyone else's hearts for the taking and never returning it back to them.

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure about why Aunt Hikari fired him from his job; he thought he did a perfectly good job that satisfied her and the rest of the staff members. He made sure Kuruma wasn't there when it was the rush hour for lunch and dinner, be perfectly civil to everyone (including the bastards that tried to used their bending for their own purposes), and be honest to her.

'This is the third job I got kicked out of too.' He thought, crouching on the floor to pick up the remnants of the dish he dropped seconds ago. Carefully taking each piece, he could hear his fellow employees whispering to each other; some of them were upset about the change, wondering about the reason about why he was fired, while others weren't that great. He clenched his hand around a piece tightly until its jagged edge cut into his skin as he listened to one particular conversation between Hiroko and Ishao, two employees that didn't particulary enjoy his company.

"Thank god the bender's gone for good." Hiroko whispered to his partner; his lips curled back into a sneer. Though Naruto had his head face downwards, he could imagine the pale-faced nodding back at his friend with a grin.

Sighing, Naruto gathered the rest of the pieces with his uninjured hand, and stood up. The semi-quiet conversations immediately stopped once everybody saw him and waited for what the blond teenager would do next. Naruto solemnly walked towards the corner of the restaurant, maneuvering himself away from the entire crowd of employees and the tables, and dropped the dishes into a garbage dispenser. His hands went inside the pockets of his apron and he forced himself to look at several of the people.

He could see how some of the girls that became friends with him started to tear up once more, their cheeks blushed and their eyes glistening with the salty tears. The rest of the guys, excluding Hiroko and Ishao, gave looks of either pity or sadness.

The boy couldn't bear responding back to the many glances and just went to the back of the restaurant, where the employees could change into their uniform and back. He sensed Kuruma cautiously walking behind him, his tails creating scratchy noises from being dragged against the wooden floor.

'It's not right for Kuruma to feel down as well.' Naruto crouched down to meet at the same eye level as his partner-in-crime.

"It's alright boy; it's not your fault. Besides, I bet you we can get a job as quickly as possible." He reassured his fox, petting him with gentle touches until the animal turned more positive and hopeful.

It worked like a charm; Kuruma stood up and picked up Naruto's bag by his canines and the rest of his teeth. The fox trotted to the exit, leaving the boy to look back at the employee's changing room and gave a deep sigh of betrayal. Soon, he started to walk away from the scenery, and moved to the exit until he heard two people laughing rather maliciously. He stopped and listened on, waiting with thin patience.

"I can't believe the old woman did it." Ishao's flimsy voice came into the conversation. "That was a great plan Hiroko, hiring those benders to threaten the grandma."

'What?!' Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'What do they have against me?!'

He could feel his anger rising to the top, his temper clouding his rational thought and common sense. Dropping his uniform, he rammed into Hiroko first, and dropped the two of them on the floor. A loud crash was heard as some of the more fragile tables broke under the weight of the two men, while the chairs were pushed back harshly.

Naruto straddled Hiroko's hips and saw Kuruma growling at Ishao from the corner of his eyes.

The girls screamed in shock as they observed Naruto raise a fist above his head, and slamming it down on Hiroko's cheek. He raised another one and continued to punch him until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He stopped midway and turned to see Hansl giving him a firm shake of his head.

Naruto dropped his fists and slowly stood back up, ignoring the bruised face and blood on his knuckles. He didn't know what to do anymore and rushed past the older man with Kuruma by his side, leaving through the entrance, and kept on going until he finally calmed down.

He walked down the road, avoiding any pedestrians and vehicles with ease. His mouth fixed into a grim frown. With his hands in his pockets, he dragged his feet against the group on each step he took. Kuruma walked next to him, his paws slightly tearing the ground as well.

Both were immensely upset at how unfair they were treated and now they were unemployed with no source of income.

'I think my apartment got evicted as well.' Naruto pessimistically said in his mind, thinking about the small apartment room he rented a few days after he arrived with his remaining money. 'Now, I'm getting hungry. Should I get some Narook's noodles?'

He faced at a certain degree to watch Kuruma's reaction as he asked, "Hey Kuruma, you want to have some noodles from Narook's place?"

The fox gave an annoyed glare that didn't struck anything in his heart. There was nothing that Naruto could do in his life now. In the mean time, he needed to get some grub in his stomach.

They continued to pass by stores and buildings until they reached the noodle restaurant. Naruto was about to enter until the flaps parted to the side for the blond bender to see Korra, two guys, and a girl attached to one of the guy's arms. His eyes widened at the incoming Korra, who didn't notice until she bumped into him.

Her friends laughed at Korra as she fell on the sidewalk. Even he let a chuckle pass through his lips as he lent a hand to the Avatar. The girl found the hand in front of her face and she looked up to find Naruto's cerulean eyes and whiskers.

"Naruto," she cried out and took the offered hand. She was lifted up and coerced into a hug; her cheeks flushed a little due to how warm she found Naruto's body was in the cold weather. She leaned back with a smile on her face. "How's it been? Did you find a job yet?"

She heard a cough and noticed that her friends looked a bit put out from the conversation. Stopping herself, she raised a hand towards a middle height guy who looked a bit too optimistic.

"Hey Naruto, this is Bolin. He was the guy yelling a few weeks ago." She introduced him to Naruto and the blond bender gave another hand out. Bolin reached out and shook it, grinning happily. "Hi Naruto!"

Korra moved the couple; their names were Mako and Asami. Both of them seem a bit too handsome for Naruto's taste due to annoying memories, but he gave a smile. They nodded to his greeting and Asami, specifically, added a wink at the end.

Naruto blushed and was surprised when he noticed a frown on Korra's face. Forcing his blush down, he said, "Well thanks for introducing your friends Korra. I just got fired from my job, so I'm left with nothing."

Mako spoke up for the first time, a curious tone blending with a suspicious one. "How come?"

Naruto didn't want all of them to know about his skill as a wood bender, so he responded back with a confused pitch. "Everyone's assuming I'm a bender, so they're all kicking me out. I don't know why though."

Everyone in the group, including Korra, took on an angry look as if they knew the exact reason for the general hatred for benders. He wanted to know as well, but Kuruma nudged him on the leg to not ask.

Korra reined in her emotions first with another grin and a question on the tip of her tongue. However, Bolin got to her first as he asked, "Do you like watching pro-bending?"

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto answered, scratching the back of his neck with a spare hand. "Why'd you ask?"

Bolin looked more excited and brought out a weasel like animal with his hands. He started to jump up and down repeatedly and said, "Well, I'm on a team with Korra and my brother here! We're called the Fire Ferrets!"

Korra nodded along, her arms waving excitedly. "Naruto, you should watch us in one of our matches! We've entered our name in an incoming competition, so you got a chance."

Laughing, Naruto answered with a 'yes'. Bolin and Korra cheered and bumped fists, happy that they gained a supporter and a friend to help out.

"But," Naruto paused their celebration with a worried frown. "I don't have any money to see your matches. Also, I need to find a place to live in before I have to live in the streets."

Asami moved a step forward and offered, "If you do need a place to stay, you can always work at my house. My dad can't be organized for his life, so you can be an assistant for him."

"But, it's at your place. I don't want to be a bother." Naruto answered, his eyebrows etched together.

Mako was sympathetic to Naruto's situation due to living in a similar condition as he did before he became a pro-bender. "Hey Naruto, there's a gym nearby that's probably looking to hire. You can check it out there. If anything, you can contact Asami about that offer too."

Naruto cheered up at the given opportunity. "I'm pretty okay with manual labor. Alright guys, thanks Asami. How should I contact you though?"

Asami smiled at the grinning handsome blond, understanding why Korra was acting weirdly a few minutes before. Naruto looks exotic with his eccentric hair color and tanned skin. His cerulean eyes is hypnotic to the beholder and Asami felt bad for checking him out instead of focusing on Mako. For the moment, she answered Naruto's question. "We can meet up here or somewhere else after a few days."

Then, Korra bursted out with a 'no'. Everyone gave her weird looks and she pursued on. "I mean, I can meet up with Naruto. Asami, don't you have a date with Mako later?"

Mako looked even more bewildered in Naruto's opinion and the black-haired girl nodded at her question.

Korra relaxed, releasing her unknown tension. "Okay Naruto, we'll meet up here after two days?"

The blond bender shrugged his shoulders and waited until Kuruma climbed his shoulders. "Alright then."

After a few seconds, he said, "Guys, I'm going to see that gym now. See you all later! See you Korra!"

He left, running in the opposite direction he came from, and no one said anything until Bolin asked, "He has no idea where to go, does he?"

"Nope," the Avatar deadpanned.

"Should we catch him and tell him?" Mako wondered.

There was another pause until Korra said, "Nah, he'll find it. I mean it's the only gym downtown."

* * *

"Okay, why didn't you remind me to ask for directions?" Naruto asked his fox, annoyed with himself since for the second time around, he was lost.

After a few hours, the peaceful scenery with the moderate sized houses and shops were replaced with run down apartments and dirty streets. People were walking together in groups of two to three members, while some men walked alone with gruff facial expressions. Naruto wasn't sure about why those people decided to be the odd ones out until he saw glints of silver flashing in their pockets.

"Damn Kuruma, I think we're not in Republic City anymore." The blond bender said, walking once more, and thought he would be able to find at least one person that didn't seem dangerous. With no signs of activity, the seventeen year old thought it was rather frightening to walk with only nothing but a pet by your side and his empty bag.

He resumed back to walking until he zoned out; his mind thinking about all the possible ways he could try and find the gym. Once again, Naruto's chances of meeting trouble are absolute as he bumped into a man twice his body size that also had a hybrid moose. He tried to apologize, but the man, along with the earlier ones, had a short temper.

"WATCH IT PUNK!" The man screamed and aimed a roundhouse kick towards Naruto, who ducked out of the way. He moved back a few meters.

'To be eaten or not be eaten, that is the question.' Naruto thought as he warily watched the man with the weird hybrid moose next to him. It looked dangerous to the blond bender as the moose-lion-dragon animal began to snare its teeth wide and dig its hooves into the ground. It snorted several times with steam puffed out of its nostrils and its horns pinpointed at him. With its tall height and large muscular body, Naruto wasn't sure if he should handle the situation like a fierce hunter or run far away with Kuruma on his shoulders.

'I don't understand what's going on this week.' His eyes darted all over the place, trying to look for a shelter against the hybrid animal. It was near impossible since he was trapped in an alleyway with limited space to move. 'I thought Lady Luck supposed to be-!'

Without letting him end his thought, the animal charged at his master's command, and recklessly reared his horns straight at Naruto. He moved to the side, barely getting pierced with those sharp antlers; his back bumped against the building. He turned to where the creature stopped and saw it stuck its horns inside a wooden wall of a building. Its behind started to shake side to side as if the movement could loosen its body from the hole.

Naruto took one second to see its predicament and laugh; his body shaking from the hilarious situation. However, it didn't last that long as he felt a strong wave of heat coming towards him. He looked straight ahead to see a whip-like flame coming at rapid speeds. He waited a few seconds before jumping over as if it was rope. He gently planted his feet on the side of the building and then flipped over a few feet; his arms and head tucked in neatly.

He landed on the floor safely with his legs bent down in a crouching position. His hands helped Naruto stand up once more and pushed back several strands of his hair from his forehead. Yet, the man only stood solemnly, which made the blond grit his teeth and go into a defense position; his right fist a few inches in front of his left. His legs spread out shoulder-width distance as Naruto thought, 'Should I just use earth bending?'

The man jumped sideways, kicking his foot over his head, and letting a bright steam of fire to follow. It moved hazardously, leaving remnants of embers on wooden objects that caught on. It was really like a scene from hell Naruto thought as he stomped on one side of the ground; a large rock that erupted a few feet away. He gave an air punch with his left as the rock flew and collided with the fire. It dispersed as the rock continued to move at high speeds, almost making contact at the bender, but was too late.

The man leaned back, allowing the rock to glide past him. He came forwards and moved his arms as if he was pushing something. But, it was only a burst of hot flames that moved to the blond bender, covering inch by inch with the ferocious red color of heat.

Naruto put his hands down, palms facing up, swiftly lifting them up; a wall of stone shot up from the ground, protecting the boy from harm's way. He then kicked the slab of stone, crumbling it into several large pieces, before doing a series of punches which boosted the speed of the rocks that started to fly.

The man must've been an aerobic Naruto thought as he watched him dodge through elaborate flips off the walls and in midair as well to not get hit by the incoming rocks. The fire bender landed gracefully on a flaming wooden crate and inhaled deeply.

Naruto glared at the man, who had his hands curled over as if he was getting another fire whip ready. He snarled his teeth before angrily asking, "Dude, what's your problem?"

The mysterious man didn't say anything and threw his hand forward, making the second whip to slash straightforward, transforming it into an arrow. Naruto tried to dodge it once more, but was unsuccessful as the arrow divided itself into several more. Without knowing what happened, the blond bender hissed as he clutched his arm in pain. He felt the searing burns on his calves, along with several on his sides. He fell on one knee, attempting to control his balance and breathing. It was hard doing so with his brain overloaded with information about the pain everywhere.

'Ouch,' he thought as he tried to look where the man was, his vision going hazy from the over exertion of pain. Yet, it seemed as if the fire bender vanished from thin air, with nobody standing at his spot. 'What the hell?'

SLAM

His head slammed onto the ground, a throbbing ache on his forehead. With his vision going hazy, his consciousness started to go back and forth. He tried to glance to the back with his eyes scrunched up. From the sunlight, the figure was shadowed with a creepy grin, white teeth and gums showing.

But then, he heard an extremely loud voice with a clash of skin contact and metal weaponry. Naruto tried for the last time to focus his vision and saw two figures facing the fire bender with confident smiles on their faces.

That was the last of what the man Naruto saw before darkness snared his eyesight and he blanked out.

* * *

_"...to release the element inside us also means to acknowledge the dangers that we can create as well." With another puff from the wooden pipe he always loved, he watched his pseudo grandfather stare at the beautiful horizon. Thin streams of smoke wavered in the air before vanishing in front of his eyes, leaving a somewhat addicting tar scent. He sniffed it once more, finding the aroma relaxing with his tensions from the day vanishing. He leaned back against the wooden column and closed his eyes, thinking as the sun gradually crossed the horizon and brought a wonderful sunset; its beautiful shades of red coloring the blue canvas. It was truly a wonderful sight to the beholder._

_The crickets chirped in their hidden spots within the tall grass of their front yard. Sakura petals flew through the flow of the wind, leaving a calming pink trail for the birds to follow and tread with._

_"Naruto, what do you know about the Avatar?" His grandfather suddenly asked after a few minutes of silence. He became confused by the question as he knew that everybody else knew how important the Avatar was to the world. He, or was it she, was like a hero in his eyes; they save the world without even being asked to. They know all the elements through immense practice and dedication. When they died from whatever; their next life becomes alive through reincarnation._

_It was basic knowledge for anyone who paid attention in the academy. However, there was one thing that the Avatar can do that he learned that nobody else has._

_"I know that the Avatar can't eat as much ramen as I can." He boasted with his chest puffed out, a wide grin plastered on his face. "The Avatar can't beat me 'cause Sasuke said that my stomach was actually from a Boar-Q-Pine."_

_It was for that answer, the old man started to chuckle with the tiniest of smiles, and his pipe moving up and down comically. He felt proud for his efforts to make his grandfather laugh when all other attempts have failed. It's been so many years since the grandfather laughed or even showed a remote of a cheerful emotion since the incidents from earlier years. His oldest son died in a battle with a fire bender, when he was not a bender at all. His youngest son abandoned Konohagakure, his own village, in hopes of joining the Republic's police force. Finally, his deceased wife was murdered in cold blood by someone known as Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox._

_It's for those events that he's willing to act like an immature fool for him. To joke around with clumsy body movements and cheerful smiles that only he could pull off, Naruto acted on that wish to help the man that saved him from his own misery as a child._

_Yet, as he sat down along the ledge of the porch, where the old man stayed from the beginning, he was curious for the answer to the question he had in his mind for a time. Starting from the wide-brimmed hat with the symbol of fire and going down the pure white robes, Naruto saw the words: Hokage._

_He looked back up to the wrinkled face and swung his legs against the ledge. His hands crossed with each other and his eyes focused on a single blade of grass that was bent in a different direction than the others. He could feel the old man's eyes staring at him; then he heard the scratchy, but strong voice, "What's wrong Naruto?"_

_He matched with the questioning eyes for a few seconds, before asking, "I know that the Avatar supposed to the most powerful person on this planet... but, what about the Hokage? What about you?"_

_Even though everybody knew and adored the Avatar, it was very different for the people in Konohagakure. Every occupant in the village loved the Hokage, the Fire Shadow, for he is the one who was chosen by the people, and protects them with 100 percent of his strength and will. Though the Hokage doesn't have the ability to manipulate all four elements, his or her fighting prowess isn't something for anyone to laugh at. _

_Naruto knew there were four Hokages altogether: Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, and the old grandpa himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi. They were all chosen for their battle skills, their love for the people, and the ideology they represented for the village. Yet, he wasn't sure if a situation ever arose with the Avatar coming back to help the world, who would Konoha choose as a leader? _

_The old man seemed to stop smoking as he settled his pipe on his lap and stared off into the far distance, leaving a semi-glazed appearance. Several people that were leaving for their homes stopped by the house and gave their greetings to his grandpa and to him. Their joyful expressions indicated of the peaceful atmosphere that arrived after the 100 year war._

_He waited for several minutes to hear a reply, a meaningful answer to his question. _

_"Indeed, for those that choose a leader based on power do gain answers and solutions that are both good and bad. Power is a desirable trait for many who want protection from enemies and danger alike. For the people, they can choose whoever they admire, and it could be everyone that sides with the Avatar. For the Hokage, we will try our hardest, regardless of who left our side, to protect everyone with the Will of Fire." The old man replied, but with a hazy tone as if he was reminiscing the years before he became the most important person in the village. _

_Numerous stars luminously shone the inky dark sky, accompanying the crescent moon with bright lights. He tore his gaze away from the Hokage and leaned back, watching the night sky.  
_

_'It's the same thing as mine.' He wanted to leave Konoha to explore the world, dreaming of the day where he could live out his own life. He didn't want to be stranded in the same place, where constant glares and threats would scare him constantly. He wanted the respect of all the villagers for who he was and not because of something that he doesn't even know. _

_He turned to his pseudo grandfather and called out his name. The old man faced him properly with a questioning and calm look on his face. _

_Taking a deep breath, he determinedly said, "Old man, I'm going to become the next Hokage, and earn everyone's acknowledgment; believe it!" _

* * *

"If I can't do 600 push-ups by the time this stranger wakes up, I'll do 800 push-ups, run ten laps around Republic City by handstand, and spar with all the members consecutively until I collapse!" A boisterous voice woke Naruto up from exhaustion, his head ringing from the excessive loudness.

"What the- where am I?" Naruto asked to no one, looking around and saw it was a spartan decorated room, with only a simple designed desk and drawer. A simple closet was stationed to the corner of the small room and a wooden door was right by the closet. The walls were decorated with only a few pictures. His blurry vision couldn't make out any of the people that were inside the frames, but what he could see were two pairs of bushy eyebrows that gave Naruto the creeps.

"Lee, shut up! I can barely hear myself talk to the students!" A feminine voice shouted from the other side of the door, sounding very annoyed and exasperated. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the name, thinking about one of the many young fighters that he still admires to this day.

He looked down and noticed how his injuries were treated somewhat professionally with clean bandages.

'And maybe a healing balm,' Naruto added once he took a sniff at the bandages and smelled a distinct herbal scent. Lifting the white sheets from his body, he managed to pull his legs to the side of the bed without aggravating his injuries. Though it took some time, Naruto was then able to gather the rest of his strength to stand up with the support of the bed post.

He exhaled a deep breath and realized something. "Where's Kuruma?"

Naruto turned to face the bed and saw nothing was there except crumpled bed sheets and a pillow. He wanted to bend his knees to search underneath the furniture, but his brain continuously sent signals of not wanting to do it at the same time.

"Stupid fire bender with his stupid fire bending and his stupid attitude," Naruto grumbled under his breath and sat down on the bed. "At least he could've tried to burn his moose-dragon hybrid thing instead of me."

Coming up with nothing else but to yell for his friend, Naruto started to shout, "Kuruma! Where are you Kuruma?"

Silence spoke volumes as the blond teenager gave a sigh at his lousy attempts. For another few seconds, he took some effort to stand up once more, and then he tried walking without any aid. Unfortunately, he fell on his back and started to yelp some curse words that would make a sailor blush a tomato red.

He gave another round of looking around and found two crutches conveniently leaning against the desk, gleaming and positively whispering in his head, 'Come use us; we're the secret to your success!'

Shaking his head at his joke, Naruto somewhat used his legs to push his body to the direction of the crutches. His hands, which weren't damaged whatsoever, pulled him closer to the wooden aids, and finally brought him to the front of the desk. The blond teenager took one by each of his hands and used some pressure to stand.

"Hurrah, let's get out of here!" Naruto shouted as he hobbled to the door and opened it to find a long hallway leading to another exit. Inwardly, he face-palmed himself and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what kind of force of nature wanted to make his life in Republic City difficult.

He gave a sigh and began to walk down the hallway, stopping several times to take a break and look at another bunch of pictures that were hung on the walls. Now that he was able to see clearly, he could see where those furry eyebrows originated from. With two guys and a girl standing together as a team, two of the members were laughing happily with the remaining one giving a confident half-smile.

Both of the guys were around their mid-twenties if Naruto had to guess with one of them wearing a green jumpsuit garb that was kind of disturbing to the eye. Along with that, he wore orange warmers on his calves with open toe sandals.

'He looks like him, but what are the chances that I'm in his house? It's probably a fan who got this lucky picture.' Naruto thought as he moved to the next guy, who had long hair and distinct pale pupils.

The remaining guy had a long white robe that covered his entire body with a grey apron that covered his lower section. His forehead was covered with a simple headband and his eyes seem unfocused and unstable.

'He looks blind though.' Yet, the guy was able to look straight at both of his comrades with an easy and relaxed smile on his face.

Finally, the only girl in the picture wore a white Chinese garb with her hair tied up into two simple buns. One of her hands was on her hip, while the other one was holding on the end of a handle. However, Naruto couldn't believe the size of the sword she was carrying; it looked like it was an over-sized broad sword, a weapon that seems a bit too difficult for the girl in the picture with her physical stature.

"Lee, I'm telling you one more time; Enough with the youthfulness speeches!"

"But my dearest Tenten, the springtime of youth approaches at a daring speed. We must embrace it wholly and dearly to our hearts!"

"God damn, move it guys. Your teacher's in another youth rant."

"Yip!"

Naruto perked up at the sound of a fox's call and hurriedly stumbled towards the exit. "I'm coming Kuruma!"

Opening the door, the blond teenager found himself staring at a dozen students with two of the people from the pictures. There was an awkward silence that stretched for a few seconds until the guy with the bushy eyebrows broke out of his stupor. He raced to Naruto and stopped a few inches away from his face.

Naruto leaned back and was a bit scared at the sudden excited look on the guy's face.

"OUR STRANGER HAS AWOKEN FROM HIS DEEP SLUMBER! HOW ARE YOU? ARE YOU FINE? DO YOU NEED ANYTHING?" The guy asked at an overwhelming pitch that made most of the students cover their ears. The girl appeared exasperated as she stomped to the guy and pinched his ear.

Immediately, the guy stopped talking and looked to the girl with crocodile tears in his eyes. "Tenten, that wasn't youthful at all!"

"Who cares Lee? The guy just woke up and you're screaming in his ear!" Tenten shouted back at evenly matched volume in Naruto's opinion and turned around to face him. She offered a little bow and smiled cutely. "Hello, sorry for that. But hey, welcome to Republic City's Gym for All. My name's Tenten and that loud guy's my partner, Rock Lee."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, nervously chuckling at the adorable introduction. Then, he felt small footsteps on his back and on his shoulders. He moved his head to meet eyes with Kuruma and he gave a little shout of happiness. "Kuruma! Thank god you're safe!"

The kitsune shook his tails; his answers mixed with joy and a bit of smugness.

The teenager faced back to Tenten, who was sweetly cooing at the brief reunion, and then straightened out her posture. She asked, "Are you alright with your injuries? What were you doing with that fire bender anyways?"

Naruto didn't want to be in any further trouble after the first incident when he arrived to the city. So, he gathered enough energy to form an apprehensive frown, and replied truthfully, "I was looking around for a job and my friends suggested this place. I got into some trouble along the way for no reason."

Tenten stared at his face intently, which made Naruto want to swallow his saliva, but he knew that the girl could take it as a sign of lying.

"I heard from some other people that there was a blond kid going from place to place for a job. With each job, he got kicked out for reasons no one wants to say. The rumors are because you and your fox are fighting everyone that pisses you off, is that right?" Brown eyes hardened with arms crossing each other, making the girl appear as a stubborn panda.

Naruto didn't know how to reply to the question without making himself look bad. Luckily, Rock Lee was able to distract his partner with, "Okay youthful students of mine! It is time to lock up for the day, but you have to remember the last rule."

"To embrace the will of fire to protect oneself and others!"

A blinding smile was plastered on Lee's face as he spread his legs and focused a thumbs up towards his students. The students accepted the gesture even though all of them admitted the smile could have blinded them.

Back with Naruto and Tenten, a staring contest ensued between themselves for a few minutes, with students pausing halfway through stretching to watch an awkward tension forming. Most of them backed to other places of the gym, thinking that the two will fight each other eventually.

"Okay then," Tenten randomly said, nodding her head and laying out a hand to her newest addition of the team. "We do need a maintenance guy around here. With Lee getting so many injuries and the kids littering all over the place, I think another person could help me along."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing; he received another job in less than a few hours and this place doesn't have any malicious employees like Hiroko and Ishao.

"I'll take it!" Right after that, his stomach growled due to lack of food for the past few hours. His face took on a blush, making Tenten laugh cheerfully with a bell like tone. Rock Lee came along and joined the conversation once he told everyone that it was time to leave for the day. He laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and moved him to another hallway, where the blond bender could smell a delicious scent of stir fry and noodles.

"Alright Naruto, let's enjoy a wonderful, delicious meal cooked by Tenten! For you Kuruma, I believe there is some meat to enjoy!" Lee exuberantly stated and dragged the boy towards the entrance, leaving Tenten to follow along.

Naruto felt Kuruma climb up to his shoulders once more and he turned to face the girl, who was shaking her head. Her look softened as her lips upturned, creating cute dimples. She caught up to the two boys and conversed with Naruto once more.

"Sorry about that, I'm just trying to make sure that this place doesn't shut down later." She apologized and Naruto readily accepted.

"It's okay, you need to be to survive the outside world."

She raised a fine eyebrow. "The outside world?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied and walked in a comfortable silence until Rock Lee stopped in front of the kitchen. "But hey, do you happen to like pranks?"

Tenten giggled with her one of her hands on her knee, her body somewhat quivering from the strength of her laughter. Rock Lee laughed as well and dragged Naruto into the kitchen, where a delicious looking meal was spread on a simple wooden table. His stomach growled once more and he gave a sheepish laugh that sounded comforting to both fighters' ears.

"I think we're going to be a great team Naruto."

"Yosh, let's dig into this delicious meal until we're stuffed to the brim!"

"...thanks again!"

**To Be** **C****ontinued...**


	3. Chapter 3: Uprising Plans

**Author's Notice****: Yay! Finally, here is chapter three. Some of you are already confused with the plot, but don't worry. All of these 'holes' will be fixed in later chapters. For now, please enjoy the third chapter of "The Woodbender".**

***Though this is an AU fanfic, I might use some of the plot elements from the canon timeline to match up.**

****Thank you to everyone for letting this story reach 101 followers and 100 favorites. Special thanks to 'Konoha's Nightmare' and 'UzumakiGo'. **

**Disclaimer****: I do not own ****Naruto**** or ****Legend of Korra****. **

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Dinner started somewhat awkwardly for Naruto as he sat down on the opposite side of Tenten and Lee, both holding their chopsticks with right poise. He felt a sweat break out when he swore both of their eyes shone with hungry glints; he had to admit he understood why they were acting like that, with the delicious meal laid out in front of him.

Lee dug in his bowl first, swallowing rice and several side dishes at the same time. His eyes were gleaming with happiness and his cheeks bloated from the overeating. While Tenten seem to eat at a slower pace, the enthusiasm was there.

'Is this how I usually look like when I eat ramen?' Naruto randomly wondered with his own chopsticks in his hand, continuing to watch at a trance. He remembered back in his childhood when he was obsessed with it, a lot of people were entranced by how he ate the noodles.

'Probably not,' He brought a small pieces of grilled meat to his mouth and chewed on it. For a few minutes, all he could hear were the sound of metal contact and eating like noises.

Looking at the corner of his eyes, Naruto could see Kuruma was busy eating his own slab of steak, biting on the red corners with a satisfied lazy smile.

Trying to make some idle conversation, he asked who made the meal, and Tenten pointed at Lee. The co-owner didn't even acknowledge the pointing and continued to devour his rice. The other owner rolled her eyes and smiled apologetically to Naruto, who only laughed under his breath.

The amiable silence continued while Naruto looked out the window across from him. Sunlight was replaced with a murky dark haze, covering the

'This is really nice.' Taking a bite of his rice, Naruto thought about the situation at hand. 'I got a job here. There might be some minimum payment and rooming might be free...'

The blond bender couldn't believe that he got a job in the middle of nowhere. Though he seriously enjoyed working as a waiter at Aunt Hikari's restaurant, he wasn't particularly liked by his fellow workers.

'Especially Ishao and Hiroko,' he jabbed his chopsticks on a pickled root. Tenten raised a fine eyebrow at the sudden attack, leaving Naruto to give a sheepish look in return.

He wasn't sure about how the two discovered he could bend at all. He didn't do any bending near the restaurant since he saw the sudden demonstration at the place.

_He was cleaning the tables when he heard the bell ring, indicating a new customer arrived. Putting the cloth in his apron pocket, he turned to face the person and greet him when his face was shoved with a pamphlet._

_He couldn't see what it said in the first place and he felt his irritation levels rising._

_"Um, let's move the thing out of my face first?" He moved the hand and matched faces with a gaunt-looking man, his suit creased and spotted with dirt. The man looked tired and Naruto put his annoyance to the side. "Sorry, let's bring you to a table."_

_He gently placed a hand on the man's back and wanted him to bring him towards the back, where one of the girls finished with cleaning. However, the man didn't say anything as he walked to the center aisle, ignoring the customers' stares and whispers. _

_He was about to bring the stranger back to his intended table when the man suddenly talked with a determined voice. _

_"People of Republic City! Have all of you notice the atmosphere clouding our beloved city? Did any of you feel the repression and the prejudice from the benders? We are surrounded by people who want nothing from us except to appoint the non-benders as toys to play with."_

_He was honestly confused, listening to the words that came out of the stranger's mouth. He only lived here in the city for more than a week so far, but he didn't see any incidents involving the benders. In fact, all the people he identified as benders were truly kind and helpful to his adjustment in the city. _

_Well, there was the fire bender with the ill temper. The little voice in his head whispered, making him think of the sudden attack the man did because he just bumped into him. He could remember the glimpses of the scared reactions from the little circle of passersby around him. But, one man doesn't make a whole group of people responsible for his own actions. _

_Naruto needed to find out more about the city, but by looking at the man who was starting to spittle while talking, he decided not through him. _

_"For years now, the council was always made up of benders that thought they knew what was the best for us. They made the choices of what our 'wants' and 'needs' were, but it only profited in their lives. There was no representation! No voice in our regards, our opinions were promptly dismissed in favor of the 'greater good'!"_

_People were drumming their fists on the tables; some were cheering, telling Naruto that they agreed with what the man was saying. He made a move to the center aisle, determined to at least quiet the man down from making any more ruckus. But then, the curtains to the kitchen shifted and Aunt Hikari wobbled to the dining area. He stopped when he saw a smile on her face. _

_Did she also agree with the man's words as well?_

_"The council dismiss our words, the police force is too lazy to help with our troubles, and the common benders are too arrogant with their own powers to do the right thing. Even the Avatar is ignorant to what's going on as she stays in her sheltered life, only causing nothing but trouble since she arrived to Republic City. Destroying public property, causing havoc in the streets, and clearly stating that she owns the city even though she has done nothing beneficial." _

_He clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes. Korra was a nice girl, though she was a bit clumsy. But even when they only met one time, he could tell that he could trust her with anything. She gave off a confident aura that anybody could relax and go by her guidance. _

_His fists kept clenching, his breathing becoming more difficult to control as wisps of cool air came out of his mouth. He took another step forward when all of a sudden Aunt Hikari gestured him to her side. _

_He moved to her right and asked, "Is this alright Aunt Hikari? There's other customers that are waiting for a table." _

_Her eyes rested on him and started to laugh cheerily. "Don't worry dear Naruto. This is an exceptional occasion that needs to happen." _

_Naruto looked, shock marring his face as he couldn't believe his ears. Aunt Hikari didn't like the benders either? _

_He thought that he was going to be alright with staying at his job. He adored the woman, seeing her as a familial figure, but now it wasn't okay at all. _

_"Look Naruto, there's our hero, Amon!" _

_A poster of a man covered in an elaborate looking mask, the black holes that is supposed to be the man's eyes drilled into his mind. He couldn't believe that some were willing to cheer for such a suspicious looking person, with the man's head covered by a hood and shadows were cast around his figure, making him appear as a villain instead. Naruto didn't want to stick in the room any longer and tried to escape. _

_However, he still heard the few remaining words from the speech, leaving a chilling shiver down his spine. _

_"Now, our hero and savior of Republic City, Amon, will save and restore the balance in this world. Not anymore do we have to listen to these prejudiced benders that will only cover for their own lives before our own. He will be the savior to all that are hurt by the damages that the benders have caused." _

_"HURRAH!" The group of consumers shouted in happiness, jumping around when the orator threw pamphlets up in the air. Aunt Hikari was smiling widely now, her crooked teeth showing despite the fact she was somewhat insecure about them. _

_He picked up one of the pamphlets, looking at the back of it and seeing a red dot in the middle of what seemed a bunch of lines. But what bothered him the most were the amount of cases that were written along with the red dot, cases on how benders destroyed someone's life or their relatives'. He couldn't help but swallow nothing as he walked out of the dining room through the kitchen curtains, passing by Hiroko and Ishao. Both of them sneered as he had his head down and hurriedly walked through the restaurant. _

'This isn't helping.' Naruto could feel the slight tremors of tiny pebbles bouncing on the floor in result of his irritation. He forced himself to eat a bit more and calm down. His legs settled and he resumed to think about other things.

He put his chopsticks down on the table and thought of other things, mainly about his current living status. He knew his job as a maintenance worker started tomorrow and he was pretty sure Tenten would allow him to live at the gym for awhile; but what was he missing?

Slowly remembering the Asami's offer to work in her mansion took longer for Naruto as he smacked his forehead against the table. Surprising his two hosts, the blond gave a loud groan. 'I can't believe I forgot about her.'

"Are you feeling well Naruto?" Lee temporarily removed himself from the food and laid a hand on his shoulder. Genuine concern could be seen on the owner's face.

The blond raised his head, making eye contact. "Yeah, I forgot to do something earlier."

"Which is?" Tenten asked, her bowl of rice rested in one hand, and her voice laced with curiosity.

"I need to actually," he stopped himself, thinking about how late it was now. "Um, never mind. I'll just send the message tomorrow morning."

The two gym co-owners looked at each other and shrugged in response. Lee resumed his mass consumption, while Tenten stared weirdly at her occupant. "You know you could always use our falcon. It's only around 11 in the evening."

Now, it was Naruto's turn to stare at the girl strangely. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded her head. "Definitely, besides we need Neji II to work out anyways."

"Neji II?" The blond asked, tilting his head to the side.

Tenten laughed, pausing only to finish her bowl of rice, stood up and left it in the sink nearby. "Yeah, Neji's one of our friends here in the city. He's a pro-bender, but he comes by to teach the kids here when he has the time."

"He is also my greatest rival!" Lee inserted his two cents and brought his own bowl in the sink as well. He wiped his mouth and pointed at Naruto, who was finishing up the meal, so they could clean up.

Tenten sighed in return and brought two fingers to her lips. She whistled sharply that made Kuruma twitch and waited until a dark shape flew pass the window and into the room. Naruto watched with amazement as the figure turned out to be a magnificent falcon.

"So, this is Neji II?" He walked slowly, reaching out with an open hand. The falcon cocked its head and leaned closer as if it was inspecting Naruto's scent. It took a few seconds before the bird nodded its head and moved back to its regal stance.

Naruto unknowingly let out a relieved sigh and made a half smile when he noticed Tenten laughing in her hand.

"Ha ha, very funny now. I'll have you know that Neji II seems like an intimidating thing."

She laughed even further, nodding her head in agreement. "Oh yeah, definitely; Neji and Neji II can be related if not for the fact they're different species."

"Oh, that gives me a terribly good impression on the original Neji then."

"Don't worry, Neji's one of a kind. You'll like him. Anyways, I'm going to sleep now. Make sure your message gets to where ever your friend is right now. Also, we'll talk about all the business stuff later. Right now, you can still sleep where you found yourself in before.

"Alright then, good night Tenten. I'll do the dishes in return for the food." Naruto sat back down in his chair, taking out parchment from his pockets and a bottle of ink. He always had some in storage for occasions like these and in case he wanted to write some letters back to his grandpa, where he knew was waking up from his slumber right now.

'What should I write?' He thought, dipping his brush in the ink pot carefully before shaking out the extra liquid on it. He lifted his arm and moved the utensil towards the parchment, where he wrote down Korra's name and as well as Asami before moving to the next available space. He couldn't really say outright that he rejected her offer and they didn't have to make contact. He wanted to have some fun with his new friends, considering how they are the only ones that wouldn't deny him friendship if he told them about his story.

'But, what if they were busy?' He groaned, placing his brush back into the ink pot, and face palmed the table. Hearing a snicker, he moved his head to Kuruma, who was resting happily on the floor with its paws tucked in. Guessing by the deep breaths, his fellow animal friend was asleep for the taking. 'Why is this so hard to do?'

"How did Gramps even do this invitation stuff?" Thinking back to his pseudo-grandfather and how he would manage these meeting dinners with the other surrounding village leaders, writing with a graceful hand, and accepting their own invites with diplomatic words. But, he wasn't the Hokage yet and he didn't exactly have many friends back home..

Mussing his hair, Naruto just gave in, and handled the brush once more. He wrote down the first few words, and hesitantly moved over to the left, where he would write his offer. He continued till he reached the end where he would have to write his name.

Putting the brush down, Naruto waited for the ink to dry, and rolled it up to give it to Neji II. He shook his head, knowing that the message will be somewhat awkward.

'Ugh, sometimes I wish my life wasn't like this.' He was being over dramatic, but he couldn't help it. Korra, Asami, and the others made a great impression on him and he didn't want to lose them so quickly.

He watched as Neji II flew out the window and to the dark sky, his mind whirling with a million thoughts.

"I guess I'll go to bed then." Naruto muttered, holding one of his wrists and stretched, leaning the chair back until it was only on two legs. Cracking sounds could be heard and he gave a contented sigh.

Returning to the chair back to its original position, Naruto walked to the sink to wash the dishes, and went to his room, yearning for a nice rest until he receives his reply.

**Hi Asami, **

**This is from Naruto, the guy you gave a job offering to. I would like to have lunch with you and your friends about this issue. It'll be my treat. **

**Naruto Uzumaki**

* * *

She didn't know what was going on with this city. She thought she could handle her responsibility as Avatar after mastering three of the four elements. She could protect those that needed help and those that are under her affections and care.

But with Bolin gone for a few days now, Korra wasn't sure if she could take up the mantle of becoming the beacon of hope. Especially with the new figure in town, Amon, swaying the beliefs of many non-benders' hearts and minds, it was difficult for her to even try to talk to them.

She couldn't give up now; Mako and Bolin needed her help to get back together. With Tenzin counting on her to at least attempt to act as the proper Avatar and balance between the Spiritual and Physical worlds. When Naruto, her new friend, contacted her about the job offer for Asami, she needed to stay at least a bit more for the future.

With her and Mako finding a lead on where Bolin is, she finally felt the rush of accomplishment and happiness in taking this role as savior of the world. She nudged Naga on her side and listened to Mako give directions to where the Triple Threat Triad was located.

Feeling the bumpiness, Korra leaned forward, and rode across the bridge, where she found herself in front of an abandoned store.

Getting off with Mako, she etched her eyebrows together, knowing that Bolin will be inside, waiting for their rescue.

* * *

He received his response two days later when he finished cleaning up the gym floor, mopping up remnants of blood and chipped bone fragments. Wiping his sweat, Naruto turned around to see Neji II settled on the top on one of the punching bags.

"Oi, come over here." He stretched out an arm, which the falcon flew over and landed confidently; his talons digging in his skin, but not hard enough to puncture. Naruto took the letter from Neji II's pouch and let the bird fly back to the outside area.

He was getting nervous about the answer he was getting back. He didn't want to make Asami annoyed from rejecting her offer when she was being very generous about it. He had a feeling she was somewhat spoiled from his first impression of her.

'But that could change,' he thought and unrolled the message, reading vertically down and visibly paling his face as the seconds passed by. 'Or it could end horribly like today.'

He dropped the mop and raced to his room, thinking about how stupid everyone was in this city. Was it because he was from the country side or something? Almost every person in the Republic is either more reckless than him or doesn't care about the consequences.

Quickly, he reached for his necessary items: two pouches separately filled with dirt or water, some lucky harms, and an illuminated picture frame. Tying the bag, Naruto set off the gym and to his destination, where he would meet one of the members of the team or maybe even Korra.

Tenten and Lee came back from their respective showers and examined the entire dojo, finding each spot cleaned of messes and residues. They were happy with the results and wanted to congratulate the blond with an honorary ramen dinner. However, looking through each room and including Naruto's, they couldn't find him or his kitsune friend.

"Where do you think he went?" Tenten asked her friend, who was looking at the wrinkled parchment roll on the floor. She watched as he picked it up and read the content, his cheerful smile disappearing by the time he finished reading the letter.

"What happened?" The weaponry mistress asked and moved next to Lee, where she could oversee the message. "What the hell?"

'I couldn't find anyone from the team for the past few days. Meet me at Nook's in twenty minutes. We need to discuss what happened. From Asami.'

"We should go help Naruto then." She was ready to help her friend. Even they only met and ate dinner only once, Tenten felt that she should help the guy from yesterday. Naruto looked out of sorts from living in the city, but seemed like a determined person, ready to help anyone. "He might get in danger. Besides, it looks like Kuruma also went to help his master."

The kitsune was wagging his tails swiftly as he if was saying that he was determined to save his friend from whatever scheme he messed up. He sniffed the air and darted to the kitchen, where they followed him and saw the fox jump through the window.

Tenten made a move to continue following the animal, but Lee stopped her. His eyes were solemn, his stance telling her that he was absolutely serious about what he was going to say. "We are going to stay here."

She took a step backwards. "What'd you mean? Naruto might be in trouble."

"No Tenten, don't you remember our most youthful mission?"

And as if something triggered in her mind, Tenten massaged her temples with two forefingers.

With a shake of her head, she flopped on the floor, her legs crossing together. She laid her head on her hand. "This is so messed up. Naruto only looks 16 for Kami's sake."

"I would like to help our new friend as well. But with the Avatar in this supposed quest, we cannot interfere. I will contact the other teams to notify about this.'

'This is so stupid,' Tenten watched her partner leave the kitchen, crumpling the letter in his hand with a determined face. 'This is really stupid.'

* * *

When Naruto arrived at Narook's restaurant, he found Asami leaning against the wall with a concerned expression on her face, her hands subtly twitching in her pockets.

'I wonder what happened,' Naruto coughed in his hand, making the girl to face him. "Hey Asami, so what's going on?"

She walked towards him, one hand leaving the pockets and grasping some kind of note in her hand. He tilted his head to see the note as she removed her fingers from the print.

It was some kind of invitation from the Equalist Party with its upper half covered by a portrait of Amon with his expressionless mask. Naruto inwardly shivered. He didn't want to encounter the picture again, but in this city; it was everywhere.

"I think this is where Korra and Mako went." Asami bit her lip, looking more worried as she thought about the idea of them entering a rally filled with anti-bender supporters.

Naruto looked lost, clueless on how to approach the subject. "Why would they go there? Do you know where this rally is?"

"From what I heard from Mako before he left was that Bolin got involved with the Triple Threat Triad for some money problems. It's been a few days and I wanted to ask Korra about the situation, but she wasn't at her apartment. So, I'm thinking something bad happened with them and most likely it's with these people."

Astounded by her deduction and the amount of talking she did, Naruto gently took the invitation and observed the bottom half, which was made up of lines and several dots. It was another picture that seem it was a part of a larger one with some of its lines cut at the corners, while the dots were sliced in half. However, there was a large one at the side of the green lines, where it intersects with the blue.

'I've seen this before, but where?' He returned the map. Asami put it back in her pocket and waited silently.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess we should start off by asking the people around here if they seen Korra and Mako."

Asami nodded in agreement. "Alright then, we should start off at where the Triple Threat Triad is. After that, let's ask people."

He went in the opposite direction in where he came and moved a bit faster when he heard the loud clicks of her boots.

"But hey, how should we ask people without alerting them their Avatar is missing?"

"I guess by asking if they seen a polar bear dog around here. We can act as if we're helping Korra catch her friend."

"She has a polar bear dog?"

"...yeah."

"...that's cool."

* * *

They searched every corner of the city for the two benders, thinking at one point that they'll show up with their pet at hand. Trying to feel optimistic, they walked while making idle conversation with one another, talking about their likes and dislikes. Asami discovered how Naruto wanted to make a new chapter in his life to return back to his village. While, Naruto found out how Asami's father was a fantastic businessman, who loved his daughter and his employees very much.

Finally, they stopped in front of an abandoned tea shop; its doors were closed and the windows broken with a glass shards on the floor.

Cautiously, Naruto headed to the front windows, sneaking and rolling on the bare ground to see if any intruders or people from the Triad were hanging around. Putting his back to the wall, he peeked through one of the glass shards and saw a disaster zone; tables were overturned and chairs were thrown carelessly.

"It's clear," he stated and jumped through the windows, mindful of the pointed edges. He waved a hand over to Asami, who rolled her eyes and opened the doors.

"Oh, well-" Naruto facepalmed himself and faced the other way to avoid any embarrassment. Starting to investigate the entire flat, he found there was only three rooms. The largest room looked as if it was used for an actual dining place for tea; another one for a meeting place, and the last one was tiny, used for guarding prisoners.

All of the doors to the rooms were busted. The doorknobs were missing and there were burnt marks on the wooden surface. Naruto crouched down to inspect one particular burn mark on the last door, where he also discover scratches.

"What the hell?" he whispered, tracing a long one and eventually stood up. He took a step forward and was then slapped in the head with a furry object.

"There's a fox on you!" Asami made a move to grab the fox that was clinging on Naruto's head, her hands ready to swipe the mangy animal away.

However, her friend raised a finger to stop her, and used his other hand to lift the animal away from his face. Inhaling a deep breath, Naruto blinked at the fox, who blinked back in return. The blinking contest resumed until he realized one hundred percent who the animal was.

"You followed me Kuruma?" The fox nodded to what his master has asked to and sweat drooped when he saw tears coming out of his human's eyes. "Oh my god, you're such a good friend!"

He swung the fox around in a circle and ignored the seriousness of the situation, ultimately forgetting about what he was doing here for the past few minutes.

"Ahem," Naruto and Kuruma stared at Asami, who was pointedly raising one eyebrow at the both of them. Sheepishly and somewhat embarrassingly apologizing, Naruto put down the fox and was about to search the room once more when he saw a peculiar green cloth on Kuruma's tail.

"Hold still," he warned Kuruma and took the green cloth. It was long and narrow just like a scarf with a faint scent of an animal.

"Does this look recognizable to you?" He displayed the scarf to Asami, who widened her eyes in acknowledgment.

"Yeah, I believe that's Bolin's scarf."

"Then, that must mean the Triple Threat Triad brought him somewhere else after stopping here." Naruto concluded and crouched down once more to meet at eye level with his pet. "Where'd you find this Kuruma?"

The fox nodded again and pointed towards the other end of the room. Making eye contact with each other, Naruto and Asami carefully walked down the unlit room, their bodies apprehensive of their surroundings. They didn't want to get in any trouble so late in their investigation.

Finally, they reached the end, where they found cut rope scattered. Asami picked it up and found nothing else, except small animals that made Kuruma want to go hunting.

With all of the evidence in their hands, all of them went back to the front of the store, but through the windows where it would be a safer option than just blatantly walking out the doors, where everyone knew the place was owned and abandoned by gangsters.

"Ow," the girl muttered as she wiped the trailing blood on her cheek and reassured Naruto she was fine.

"Okay Kuruma, let's look for our friends, shall we?" Naruto waited until his fox was done sniffing the green scarf and trotted across the street. He followed him, grabbing Asami's hand in the process, and turned to the left.

"Hey, I can walk on my own." She grumbled in response of being handled like a kid. Her hand was released right away and Asami thought she saw a faint blush on Naruto's face. In a long time since she found the invitation and finding out Mako disappeared, she laughed.

* * *

It was cold, quiet, and dark.

He didn't know where he was or how long he stayed here.

But what he did know were the chains on his hands and the blindfold on his eyes.

He screamed, desperate for someone to catch it and save him from this miserable hell.

He yelled, thrashed, and knocked his body around the walls, bruising himself until his body went numb from the pain.

Finally, he stopped.

Only a single word came out of his mouth, almost silent, so wistful, but filled with hatred.

"...**_Naruto_**."

* * *

Kuruma looked through the windows of the giant arena, seeing nothing that could possibly harm his friend. He went back to his make-shift entrance and mewed in response.

"Okay, thanks Kuruma!" Naruto half whispered to the fox and turned to Asami, who was keeping watch on each side of the alley way. They were situated in the middle of it, finding a staircase that lead to the upper level of the arena. It was a long travel and none of them wanted any Equalist supporters chasing after them.

Hearing the confirmation, Asami returned to where her new friend was, gently touching the little scratch she obtained from the glass cut. It was shining red when she looked at herself in the front of the store, but there's nothing she could do until she completed her objective.

"Alright, do you think you can reach up there? You can jump on my shoulders." Naruto suggested while going on his knees, so to make the height difference easier. She nodded and got on his shoulders, holding the last step of the staircase, and raised herself up. It took a bit of effort, but she got Naruto up the contraption as well.

They went up and entered the arena, finding themselves staring at a large room that was slowly filling up with people. The lights were shining brightly and the sound systems were being checked by strangers that had bulky machines surrounding them.

"Let's look for a place to hide." Naruto whispered to his partner, guiding them to a different staircase, which led to a balcony that was being suspended in air. It appeared to be a bad place to hide with the chance of being cornered by guards, but he saw how dark and silent it actually was.

Naruto noticed how Kuruma suddenly took off without them, his nose twitching as if he smelled something friendly or maybe from his own species. 'Oh god, that ever playing kitsune.'

He waited for a second before moving in and crouching; he blended himself perfectly while giving him the chance to see what was going on.

Asami crouched behind Naruto, looking below the scene where she found several people in uniform were lined up behind a single figure. All of them were standing in military position, hands locked and behind their backs. All of them looked intimidating with their masks, especially the one with the goggles. But what was wrong was that she couldn't understand why she felt a sense of familiarity with the man.

When Amon started his speech, Asami didn't hear a word he was saying as she was still mystified by the fact that her eyes were still focused on the man with the electric poles. Gritting her teeth, she didn't know what was exactly going on, but she needed to find Mako.

Her eyes moved from the stage to the immense crowd, ignoring the little voice in her head telling her how she was selfish in only finding her boyfriend, instead of his little brother and his friend. Shaking her head to rid the thoughts, Asami accidentally moved the lights, making her lose her balance momentarily, and leaned backwards a bit too much.

She thought she was going to fall when her shoulder was held tightly by a firm hand and Asami looked to find serious cerulean eyes.

"You okay?" Naruto asked her and she nodded in response, distracting herself from him when she heard a loud roar of approval from the crowd. Both of them looked at the stage and found Amon gesturing towards the left, his voice speaking loud and clear to them.

"Now for a demonstration, please welcome Lightning Bolt's Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City."

"It's them," Asami heard Naruto whisper to himself, seeing the searching eyes and found them focusing on one particular person. She looked as well and found Bolin kneeling with several other people, his body tied with rope.

Returning her concentration on the crowd, she found a couple that was standing still as wooden logs, instead of pumping their fists or applauding for Amon's speech. One of them was whispering something to the other's ear, pointing at the double machines that were on the wall. The other nodded in return and turned back to the stage, where the Equalist leader announced that Zolt had the chance to show that bending will never harm anyone ever again.

"Naruto, I think I found Mako and Korra." She whispered, pointing at the two figures. She could definitely tell now it was them and moved some of her hair behind her ear.

She watched as one of them sneakily tread to the boiler room, while the other was going to the front of the crowd. 'It's probably Korra to the water source and Mako to his brother.'

"Okay, we need a plan to get them out and Bolin away from the crowd's attention." Naruto leaned closer and grabbed Asami's hand, feeling a little electric shock in the process. He took his hand back, rubbing his palm, while muttering about the tension in the air is doing something to his nerves.

"Don't hurt yourself in the process." She joked and giggled when Naruto turned deadpanned and resumed watching what Amon was doing. Her smile vanished when she saw Zolt threw lightning strikes towards and eventually a long electric whip in his direction.

Amon dodged each attempt and ran to Zolt at the same time. Eventually, he grasped one of Zolt's wrists and moved it upwards, leaving a strike of lightning coming towards them. She let out a scared gasp, putting the rod in front of her body as to protect herself, and shut her eyes tightly. Naruto cursed, securing his hands around her waist, and jumped to the opposite ledge.

A sudden rush of air and her hair splayed over her face made Asami open her eyes. She was in the safety zone and by the look of the crowd, nobody found out their hiding places. Instead, they were mystified by the sudden disappearance of lightning, followed by a weakening flamethrower.

Then, it disappeared, leaving a scent of smoke and ashes. A groan echoed in the grand arena and Asami loosened her grip on Naruto's shoulder, feeling her heartbeat slowing down. She thought she was going to die by that lightning strike, just like how her mother died by a fire bender.

"What.. what did you do to me?!" Zolt's voice became raspy as if he hasn't used in a long time, while the crowd went deathly silent.

"Your fire bending is gone forever. The era of bending is over. The era of equality has BEGUN!"Amon yelled to his supporters.

Eventually, a repeated pattern of pained groans and thuds were heard on the stage. She watched as Amon placed his hands on their heads and backs, making the benders' eyes roll back and faint on the floor. After each thud was a grand roar of applause and shouting, people exhilarated.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She heard from Korra that the only possible way of removing one's bending was through the Avatar, for she is the connection between the spirits and humans. But now, with Amon and his god-like powers, she didn't know what to think later on.

"C'mon Asami, there's steam from the machines." Naruto pointed to the rising smoke, where a small combustion took place and the crowd dispersed, screaming and running towards the exit. Both listened for something and sighed when Bolin's voice yelled out Mako.

"Let's get out of here." He secured one hand around her waist once more while Asami put one arm around his neck. They jumped into the dense fog and landed safely on their knees - mainly Naruto's though. She released her hold on the blond and carefully searched the perimeter, seeing if she could find the scarlet red scarf she's coming to like on her boyfriend.

"Naruto, go try to look for Korra. I think she was the one who destroyed the machines." She was already near the stage when she directed the order when suddenly a soldier came out, flipping over the stage, and landing right in front of her.

"Asami, you sure about that?!" Naruto could hear the soldier's soft landing and made a move to help her when he was suddenly blocked by a man with a pilot's hat on his head and two harpoon shooters on his back. "Really now? Do we have to go through this again?"

The man didn't respond to the question and brandished one of his weapons, aiming and then shooting the dangerous arrow at him. Jumping over it, Naruto quickly moved to the back of the man, using the fog as his disguise. He watched as the soldier looked around with his tinted goggles and made a move within a split second. He grabbed the other harpoon shooter and tear its harness from the man's back. Nudging the floor with his heel, a sharp edged rock spiraled upwards, and crushed the harpoon against the ceiling. In the meanwhile, when he let go of the weapon, he used both hands to wrap around the man's waist.

"Have a nice night!" Basically doing something that would hurt him later in the morning, Naruto leaned all the way back, bringing the man along and smashed his head against the floor. While Naruto was close to hitting his own head, he carefully released the body, and stood back up.

"Ouch," he rubbed his lower back, massaging the sore area. "This is not my day. Why must my life be like this?"

Seeing how the soldier wasn't going to stand anytime soon, he looked around and saw Asami was holding up on her end of the fight. He didn't want to go back on what he promised to the girl...

"I feel like I'm going to regret this." He took off to where he thought Mako and his brother dashed off to, leaving the scene entirely.

Asami saw the entire thing and focused back on her own fight.

She dodged to the right when her own opponent moved a fist out and then underneath, lashing out a punch at the soldier's solar plexus. The man moved back a little and rushed forward again, his fingers aimed for her shoulders and arms. Asami realized where he was going and slid underneath, kicking out with both feet, and making the soldier fall forward. As if he expected this, he somersaulted after she kicked, and got on a handstand, before standing upright.

She got up and put herself in a regulated stance, her fists separated by a few inches, and her face to the soldier. It was starting to get hot and the steam limited her vision. Asami inwardly cursed at the fact that she couldn't see the dark shadow that belonged to her adversary. She could feel her heart racing and her eyes looking everywhere. Then, she heard the rush of air behind her and she ducked underneath. A right hook popped out and she took the wrist, careful of the other one that was coming up. Immediately, she put most of her strength and overthrew the man. Hearing the sudden gasp that showed the man was out of breath momentarily made her grin in success.

Not letting go of the wrist she gripped, Asami attempted to fracture it with her right boot. But with strength that she didn't know about, the soldier let go and

It kept going on like this; the two dodging and trying to get a lucky hit on their opponent's body. Asami was starting to sweat, her tank top clinging on her body from the amount of perspiration. Her punching was going slower and missing more of the soldier as time passed, while he looked perfectly fine. She could only go on defense, dodging the pressure point hits and blocking the random kicks that the soldier threw. Moving farther away from the stage and going near where the destroyed machines were, she became distracted by several grunts that weren't from her.

Unfortunately, she was hit right between her shoulder and neck, making her arm limp. Gritting her teeth and trying not to let out a pained moan, Asami turned to the opposite direction and ran.

She felt exhausted, unwilling to do anything but sleep in the comfort of her bed. Her feet was dragging against the concrete floor and the fact that her arm wasn't moving made a discouraging impact on her motivation.

'But, I need to do this.' she thought, willing herself to go faster and eventually where she saw Korra enter. Not noticing the shadow behind her, she felt two painful cracks on her legs. Slipping on the floor, Asami fearfully looked at the soldier that was coming closer.

"Don't come any closer! Stop!"

The soldier that was coming ever so closely stopped abruptly. Letting out an unnoticed gasp, Asami crawled back a little when the man fell over, finding Korra with her forearm raised. "She said to stop."

"KORRA," the said winner hugged Asami tightly for a few seconds before releasing her. They examined the other, searching for any injuries on the body. Then, they burst out into laughter, due to the somewhat calm procedure that was occurring despite the fact they were in a battle zone.

"What're you doing there Asami? I thought you were meeting up with Naruto?" Korra asked her friend, remembering before she entered the building about her blond friend.

Asami finished her laughing and attempted to stand on her own. She held in a painful groan when she felt her two bone fragments shifting against the other. "I got worried about you guys and I needed someone to help me figure out what's going on. We found out you were here looking for Bolin and now we're here."

Korra helped her friend up, becoming a crutch for her. "Seriously? Then where's Naruto?"

Pointing to where Naruto went, Asami put most of her body weight on Korra, she couldn't deal with the immense pressure on her injury. "He went out to find Mako and his brother."

Still surprised with the fact of how a friend she only met for a day agreed to go on this kind of expedition for her and Mako. "Oh wow, let's head over-"

**BOOM**

An explosion of flames and thrown debris made Korra form an earth tent at the split second, shielding both her and Asami from most of the impact.

"We need to help them!" Lifting the two earth walls for the tent, Korra moved it in front of them, thinking there was going to be more than just that.

**BOOM**

"Okay, hold on tight to my shoulder!" Off they headed to the source of the explosion and possibly where they could also find Naruto and the others.

'Be safe Mako, Naruto, Bolin.'

* * *

*****I wanted to add more in, but I feel like that's going to drag on. I didn't go over this for the second time just because I wanted to upload this chapter already. If there's any mistakes, please PM me.**

******I know that I updated this story way too late, but Ii'm getting ready for this huge placement exam, and the other stories. So, I am greatly sorry for my actions. 죄송해요~**


End file.
